On Sunday, August 3, 2014, at 3:15 am, a St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy patrolling behind the Belle Terre Plaza shopping center saw two men standing near the back door of a business. When the deputy shined a spotlight in the area, the two men laid on the ground attempting to hide from the deputy. The two subjects were detained and identified as Albert Joseph, 17, of Reserve and Devante Ferrygood, 22, of Garyville.

Deputies found a crow bar, bolt cutters, and a duffle bag near the back door of the business. Due to recent burglaries of businesses, detectives were notified of the incident. During an interview with detectives, Albert Joseph confessed to the attempted burglary of T-Mobile that night, the burglary of the UPS store on August 1, and the attempted burglary of the Verizon store on July 28. As detectives continued the investigation, the investigation revealed that Joseph and Ferrygood were responsible for the burglaries of the Verizon store on June 26 and July 6 when cell phones and tablets, valued at $20,000, were stolen from the store.

Albert Joseph was arrested and booked with principal to simple criminal damage to property (3), attempted simple burglary (2), and simple burglary (3). He remains in custody in lieu of a $112,500 bond.

Devante Ferrygood was arrested and booked with simple criminal damage to property (3), attempted simple burglary (2), and simple burglary (3). He remains in custody in lieu of a $108,000 bond.

Most of the cell phones and tablets stolen from the Verizon store have not been recovered, and detectives believe the devices are being sold on the streets. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to call the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office TIPS line at 985-359- TIPS or to submit tips on the Sheriff’s Office website at http://stjohnsheriff.com/submitatip.php.